Trauma, Rape and Sexual Abuse

Trauma is defined as any negative life event that occurs in a position of relative helplessness. Trauma may shatter your belief that there is order, consequence, fairness and justice in the world. Coaching can help you make some sense and order out of the experience.

In trauma coaching you will:

Explore your thoughts and feelings about the trauma

Work through feelings of guilt, self-blame, and mistrust

Learn how to cope with intrusive memories

Address problems the trauma has caused in your life and relationships

Normalise the feelings and physical symptoms you may be experiencing

Restore your sense of emotional, physical and practical control over yourself and your environment

TRE® (Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises) is a powerful body based tool to aid people in gaining control of their symptoms, their body and their life without having to talk about the trauma. Research is showing that talk therapy is limited and that we also need to address the body in order to recover from trauma.

“Trauma induced behaviour cannot be rectified with the use of traditional crisis intervention techniques that depend on logical processing because trauma behaviour is an illogical, instinctual response not under the control of the rational brain.” – David Berceli, creator of TRE®

What is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

PTSD can develop following a traumatic event that threatens your safety or makes you feel helpless. While everyone experiences PTSD differently, there are three main types of symptoms:

Avoiding activities, places, thoughts, or feelings that remind you of the trauma

Inability to remember important aspects of the trauma

Loss of interest in activities and life in general

Feeling detached from others and emotionally numb

Sense of a limited future (you don’t expect to live a normal life span, get married, have a career)

3. Increased anxiety and emotional arousal

Difficulty falling or staying asleep

Irritability or outbursts of anger

Difficulty concentrating

Hyper vigilance

Feeling jumpy and easily startled

Other common symptoms of PTSD are:

Guilt, shame or self-blame

Depression and hopelessness

Feelings of mistrust and betrayal

Feeling alienated and alone

Suicidal thoughts and feelings

Crying more than normal

Substance abuse

Physical aches and pains

Following a traumatic event, almost everyone experiences at least some of the symptoms of PTSD. These are normal reactions to abnormal events. For most people, however, these symptoms are short-lived. They may last for several days or even weeks, but they gradually lift. But if you have PTSD, the symptoms don’t decrease and you don’t feel a little better each day. In fact, you may start to feel worse.

In children—especially those who are very young—the symptoms of PTSD can be different to those in adults. Symptoms in children include:

Fear of being separated from parent

Losing previously-acquired skills (such as toilet training)

Sleep problems and nightmares without recognizable content

Serious, compulsive play in which themes or aspects of the trauma are repeated

New phobias and anxieties that seem unrelated to the trauma (such as a fear of monsters)